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by inquisitorsmabari



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, One Shot, Post-Game(s), Rivalmance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-16 10:47:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16952571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inquisitorsmabari/pseuds/inquisitorsmabari
Summary: Aurelia Hawke lost her home when Kirkwall went up in flames. Now, her home is a road that never ends, a road she travels by Fenris' side.





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**Author's Note:**

  * For [tollofthebells](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tollofthebells/gifts).



Silence reigned over them as they trudged along old, dirt covered paths through long forgotten landscapes fringed by buchels of tangled weeds and undercut by large roots that jabbed at the worn soles of their shoes. But silence was common for them, weeks and months of walking and hiking and climbing and scrambling meant that conversation was much harder to come by than it had been previously. But it was ok. The silence was beautiful, in its own strange way.

It was broken, as it always was, by the familiar words that came about once the sun had begun to set beneath the distant horizon, casting a dazzling array of reds and golds across the once blue sky above their heads.

“Let’s make camp,” His words were laden with fatigue and fringed with a weariness she knew all too well. But she couldn't help but smile; the thick walls of her Kirkwall estate had been replaced by hundreds of miles of countryside that stretched out all around them. Home was now a camp in the wilderness with Fenris at her side, but that was ok.

Her smile evolved into a grin as she glanced over at Fenris, who had halted beside her with his eyes turned towards the setting sun. “Are you volunteering?” She asked him with the faintest hint of a laugh.

“What?” He asked her, casting his eyes towards her as he watched her with confusion.

“Well I set up camp last night,” She reminded him, scuffing her toe against the dirt at her feet as she bit her bottom lip. “So it's your turn.”

“I thought I did it last night?” His brows knotted together as he watched her carefully with his eyes riddled with suspicion.

“No, you did it at the beach,” She told him, folding her arms across her chest as she studied him with narrowed eyes. “Are you trying to get out of it?”

He didn’t answer, but his smile told her everything she needed to know. “I'm going to find some firewood.” She said, turning on her heel as she made to waltz away from Fenris, dropping her pack at his feet as she turned her back on his abashed smile. “It had better be done by the time I get back.”

She heard him break out into a laugh as she turned off of the old path and headed towards the overgrown thicket covered in a bed of thorn covered weeds, and a smile found its way to her lips as the open fields gave way to an overgrown mass of tangled weeds and ancient trees.

Silence had returned. Light turned to darkness. The dirt track was behind her and, ahead, there lay only trees; rows and rows of old, thick trunks stretched out ahead of her for Maker knows how many miles. It was peaceful, sure, but it was eerie. Fenris’ warm laugh seemed so far away from her now.

She walked slowly through the thick undergrowth, picking her way through the mass of weeds and clambering over thick, protruding tree roots. Every so often, she would stop on her path and reach down to pick up a bundle of dry sticks from the floor. Kindling. Sometimes, she would stop and reach her arms above her head to break off a branch that was hanging by a thread. Logs. Or, close enough.

It was a far cry from the log basket that had been brought into her home every week during the long, Kirkwall, winters. But that was ok.

With her arms filled with spindly twigs and knotted branches, she began to make her way home. Home. That was an interesting way to describe the camp that Fenris was supposed to be making. But it was her home, now a camp by the side of the road. All the other homes she had made had been taken from her one after another. In fact, she was beginning to wonder if she was destined for a life on the road.

It certainly seemed that way. Picking through the undergrowth was easy, finding her way back to the path was far from a chore. She made it just as the golden sky had given way to a deep purple. Soon, it would be black, the stars would come out, and they would need a fire.

But where had Fenris made camp?

She scanned the horizon, searching desperately for clues of his whereabouts, some shelter for him to make camp behind, perhaps, like a fallen tree or an abandoned home. But there was very little. But, no, there was nothing.

With a huff, she marched ahead, and hoped for the best.

“Aurelia!” A voice cried behind her, cutting through the silence and sending a jolt through her body as the bundle of firewood fell from her grasp.

As she whirled around, she saw a pair of eyes that appeared to glow in the murky, blue dusk that had settled around them, paired with a mop of white hair that all but shone against the darkness around them.

“Fenris?” Her tone was accusatory, her voice bordering on shrill as her heart continued to pound against her ribcage. “Maker! You scared the shit out of me!”

He came closer, only slightly, but it was enough for her to make out the traces of a grin that was beginning to spread across his lips. “I wondered where you'd got to.”

“And you decided to jump out at me?” She asked, heaving a heavy sigh as she looked down at the pile of discarded wood at her feet. “You'd better pick those up.” She told him.

“No, that's your job,” He reminded her, scolding her with eyes that shone against the moonlight as they stared down at her scowling form. “I made the camp, you bring the firewood.”

They stood in silence. Neither of them moved, neither of them spoke. And then she sighed.

“I hate you,” She grumbled, dropping down to scoop the wood back into her arms as a loud laugh erupted above her.

“I know,” She saw him shrug from the corner of her eye as she rose to her feet with the firewood in hand. But his smile remained true, and when she returned that smile, she was rewarded with an outstretched arm. “Let me take some.”

He took a bundle of wood from her arms with all the grace and care she had become accustomed to, and she couldn't help but return the smile he gave her before leading her towards the camp he had made.

‘Camp’ was a term that was used loosely by the two of them. It referred to whichever spot they had chosen to dump their bags at the end of the day and light a small fire that burnt just enough to cook their food. ‘Camp’ was their word for home, now. Sometimes, there would be some shelter, found in the overarching of a tree branch or the roof of an old house. But, tonight, they would sleep beneath the stars together, hand in hand, head against chest, victims of the cold that pressed against them as night fell and the embers of their fire slowly faded. 

But that was ok. She quite liked the stars.


End file.
